Pheonix The Final Chapter
by scottiegal2012
Summary: In light of the cliffhanger cancellation... and only about a week after... I wrote this little piece of Fic... It's old, so give me a break I was only 15 or so. Spoiler... I like Digger... so I dig him out. Dig in!


Title: Pheonix The Final Chapter  
Rating: T (I think... Nothing bad, but best be on the safe side. I'm lousy at ratings)  
Summery: In light of the cliffhanger cancellation... and only about a week after... I wrote this little piece of Fic... It's old, so give me a break ;) I was only 15 or so. Spoiler... I like Digger... so I dig him out. Dig in!  
Disclaimer: I do not own this... but if I did, I would bring it back in a heart beat, not that anyone I've ever talked to has ever heard of it... Sigh.

John lay on the ground in shock as one of his closest and most trusted friends ran off. Questions and possible answers buzzed in his head, causing a headache. Theresa, the woman Digger had pulled partly up the ladder, now lay trembling in his arms.

John tried to stand, but he felt as though his ribs were broken. He heard voices echoing down the tunnel and he saw a group of police and detectives. Among them were Frank Hayes and Jamie Avery.

"What happened, Doe? Who was that?" Jamie asked while a police officer called in an ambulance.

"It was Digger." John gasped as she helped him up.

"Digger!" Frank announced. "Working for Phoenix?"

"John shook his head. "I don't know. None of this is making sense."

"Just take it easy, let the police handle this."

The paramedics soon arrived and they put Theresa inside. Before they rushed her out, John leaned over.

"Just tell me one thing, please. What were they doing to you?"

"They were using us to find someone...to find you." Her eyes focused on him and she slipped into unconsciousness.

They took her away, leaving John without as much as a clue as to what to do next.

Jamie and Frank came up behind him.

"Let's go, John. There's nothing you can do short of standing there like an idiot." Frank took his arm and led him outside and to the car.

"Shoulder length, lt. Brown hair, I think, mustache... very rugged bar tender look." John shrugged as the police questioned him.

"Do you have a picture we can look at?" One asked.

"I don't think so - wait! Yeah I do, behind the bar!" John hurried to the counter and dug out a picture of Digger and his brother from when they were in the military together.

"He hasn't changed too much from what he looks like here."

"This will help a lot, Mr. Doe, thank you." The police left and John stood in complete silence. From below he heard a soft purr. It was Karen's cat.

"Are you hungry?" He sighed, pulled a dish out, and began to pour the food. He was startled by the telephone and the bag fell to the ground, breaking open and spilling all over the floor.

He ran to it and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Doe! I think we may have something for you here."

The voice was Jamie's.

"We're at the hospital."

"I'll be right over." He grabbed his jacket and raced out, not bothering to clean up the cat food or lock the bar.

When he got there, the police were busy taking samples near a broken ground-level window. Yellow tape surrounded the area and sirens blared through the air. He had to go through several checkpoints before making it into the building itself.

"I'm looking for Lt. Jamie Avery, I was asked to meet her here." He questioned an officer.

"I'm sorry, we can't locate her now for you. She should be around shortly. If you'll excuse me?"

"Of course."

He wandered aimlessly for about ten minutes until he heard Jamie calling across the lobby.

"Doe! Come take a look at this!"

He hurried over and followed her into one of the recovery rooms.

"This was Theresa's room. Look around. . . The window's broken in 4 places, 4 different ways. The bed sheets are filled with blood. The night table is broken. And even the security cameras have been vandalized-all of them." She turned as she spoke indicating the disaster.

"What do you make of it?" Frank walked up behind John and tapped him on the shoulder.

Just then Stella came out of the closet where she was studying something. "Phoenix has been busy. She mumbled handing John a slip of paper.

He opened it slowly. Inside was a note and the Phoenix emblem. The note said; Kill Doe, or no hope will come to this town, country, or people ever again.

John shook his head and handed the note to Jamie.

"There's no logic to any of this, it's all pointless hints and clues." He walked to the window and gazed out at the park across the street. He watched the people on the sidewalk and the squirrels in the tree. Until a bit of color on one of the low hanging branches caught his eye. A blood red liquid was clinging to the just above the window sill.

"But this group is not clever enough." He smiled and raced out of the room, followed closely by Jamie and Frank.

"What is it, Doe?" Jamie called.

"Blood . . .On the tree outside!"

"You could see that?"

John had to dodge several security teams as he hurried to the tree.

When they got there, Jamie immediately gathered a sample and put it in a double sealed bag.

"I saw it in color." John panted.

"The trail picks up across the street." He led them along a path of blood drippings until they reached a wide rushing river. "It ends here. It turns neither right or left, but goes straight into the river."

Jamie pressed her palm to her head. "What's going on?"

Frank leaned down to the edge of the river near her feet and smelled a discolored patch on dirt. He started feeling dizzy and quickly pulled back. "It smelled like sulfur until I got closer, But it doesn't anymore. John?"

"Can't tell." He wiped it with his fingers and sniffed it himself. "No! It's some chemical used to keep a victim under enough control to get them to do . . . Well, just about anything. For instance, Jamie! Get in the river."

Jamie began to walk closer as Frank grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "That could be dangerous. How do you stop it?"

"I don't know, but we should get back, just in case."

The three hurried back to the hospital where Stella was waiting for them.

"Anything?" She asked as they walked up

"Actually, yes." John answered. "I brought a sample of this powder we found by the river. Take a look."

Stella took it into the hospital lab and confirmed what he had told them. "It's so new it doesn't even have a name, not one that I'm aware of anyway. All we now is it's biogenically engineered."

At that moment, Jamie's cell phone rang. She answered and frowned. "They found a body in the woods across the river. It's hers. There was blood everywhere and a knife was imbedded in her skull. It seems to be self-inflicted."

John and Frank looked at her and then down at the "weapon" lying under the microscope.

Late that night, John went into the bar and flicked the light on. Sitting on the couch was Digger.

John attempted to run, but he was tackled to the ground from behind.

"Trust me." Digger whispered.

"How am I supposed to trust someone that's turned their back on me before?" John tried to free himself from the weight.

"Just sit and listen. If you still don't trust me, you can do whatever you want. What do you have to lose?"

"John thought a moment, then nodded. "Fine. You have ten minutes."

"You see, I've been working with the government from the beginning. As the word Phoenix began to show up in FBI homicide files, I knew I wanted the job. It was given to me, at least here in Washington. I was to watch them and get as close as I could to the action. Not long after you showed up, I went undercover with the group itself.

"I had a bigger problem. They caught Karen and I wanted to have no part in that get together. My orders are never to interfere."

"If you weren't allowed to interfere," John looked at Digger. "Then tell me, why did you have Theresa?"

"That was what screwed me, John, I released her. I let you take while making the members of Phoenix think I was keeping her from you."

"How am I supposed to trust you?"

"That's just it, John, you have to discover the answer on your own."

"I'm sorry, I can't. Your time's up and I'm calling the police." John walked to the phone and made the call.

Ten minutes later, cop cars came to a screeching stop as they converged upon the bar. As they cuffed him, Digger looked right into John's eyes.

"Thanks for trusting me. Now you'll never find Phoenix."

John watched as the cops drove off, Digger in their custody.

"You found him, didn't you?" The voice was Jamie's.

"I forgot to lock the door. That's not saying he wouldn't have gotten in anyway. He told me he worked for the government and he was undercover, but I didn't believe him. Then he said that I'd never find Phoenix."

"Why didn't you believe him, it's entirely possible he didn't. He's not deaf, John."

"Neither is their leader."

She shook her head then squeezed his shoulders. "Get some rest, will you? It'll all be sorted out by morning."

Morning came quickly, but it was far from "all sorted out." When John arrived, he could hardly believe the mass confusion that filled the station.

"Where's Avery?" He asked the first person he saw. The woman shrugged and hurried past.

He walked to her office and seated himself on her desk.

Jamie soon ran in. "What the - Doe, get off my desk!"

"What's going on, Jamie?"

"It's none of your business!" She stomped to the door and flung it open.

"Wait!" He jumped up and blocked the door with his arms. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, John, it's just too much. There have been fifteen bodies shipped in here in the last hour. All of them were discovered withing half a mile of each other. The coroner's report is that they all died of self inflicted stab wounds to the head. Mass suicides. But Stella found that chemical in their nostrils. They inhaled and I guess- I don't know. We need your help, John."

"What do you want me to do?" He put his hand on her back and she forced a smile.

"Come with me." She walked him to the center of the room and stood on an empty desk. She tried twice to get their attention then she just screamed loudly.

Silence fell upon the entire room.

"I need Stella, right now! Everybody find her!"

Confusion returned as several left the room to find the her.

John smiled and helped her down from the desk. "Well, they heard you, but will they find her?"

"Lieutenant?" Stella came running over. Blood covered every part of her body and she was trailing it across the floor. "I heard you needed to speak to me."

"Show Doe anything you have. I want to aspect of this case overlooked."

"Alright." She led him out into the ally in the back where the bodies were coming in. As they approached the first one, an ambulance pulled up.

"I've got four here and there are more behind me." The driver yelled.

Stella turned to John. "Go get Avery, quick!"

John ran into the station and climbed onto one of the desks. "Jamie!" He called.

"What?"

He jumped down and pulled her out by her arm. "They've found more bodies."

By the time they got outside, two more ambulances had arrived.

"How many?" Jamie demanded.

"Four from the first one, two in that one, and six more in the one over there for a running total of 26 in ? a mile in just under two hours. No clues. Nothing. Frankly Lieutenant, there's not a thing we can do."

John grabbed Jamie's shoulder and turned her around. "Can we get Digger out of jail?"

"What good would that do?"

"He said that we'd never find Phoenix. He must know where they are."

"Alright. Stella! Find detective Hayes and tell him where we are."

They arrived at the jail and were admitted inside almost immediately.

"Digger!" John called as they were led to his cell.

"Hello, John. Change your mind?" Digger leaned against the bars and nodded to Jamie. "Lieutenant." He smiled softly.

"Digger, we need your help if you're willing to give it."

"He has to." John interrupted.

Jamie cupped her hand over his mouth and whispered angrily. "If we're going to do this, we're doing it my way." She turned back to Digger. "Will you. . .please?"

"Do you think I want them running around killing people and trying to hurt my best friend? Lt. Avery, I did nothing to deserve this. I want to help."

Jamie nodded. "Let him out!"

The guard looked over her ID and shrugged. He opened the cell and led them back to the front.

When they returned to the station, Stella came running to them.

"We're up to 34. All victims of," she quoted her fingers, "?self-inflicted' stab wounds to the head."

Digger clenched his fists tightly. "Show me a map of the area."

Jamie brought him to the city map which was no littered with little marks and arrows indicating the location of the victims.

"They'd be working underground, but not in the sewers or the subway." He pointed to a residential house with no marks on it near the center. "Was this a location for any of the bodies?"

Jamie shook her head.

"That's your door. I'll how you, but I suggest you bring heavy backup."

They arrived at the house Digger had indicated on the map and they surrounded it. Digger led Frank Jamie and John to the basement door. They had to jump down because there were no steps. "An old house like this is perfect. It's already so run down no one would come around."

He went further into the eerily lit basement. "Here. This would be my best guess. Any raised marks on the wall would lead to a secret passage. He ran his fingers along the wall and stopped about halfway up. Smiling he turned back to them. "If I'm right, we're going to have to be quick. No doubt they have another exit."

Jamie signaled for the police to follow.

Digger pressed against the wall and it slid open. Just inside was a huge room filled with computers and people. Not too many of them appeared to be deaf like the ones they've found in the past.

"Everybody freeze!" Jamie screamed, pulling out her gun as the cops ran in behind her.

"Every member of Phoenix has been accounted for." Frank announced as he and Jamie walked into Digger's bar later that evening.

Cheers filed the room and Digger's head popped up from behind the counter. "Drinks are all on the house tonight."

John stared into his glass for a long time as people milled around and whispered among themselves. "Hey, Digger?"

"Yeah?" He sat on a stool next to John.

"I'm really sorry I didn't trust you."

"Sometimes we have to question even our closest friends. If we don't we may end up blindly trusting a liar."

"I knew you'd understand."

Digger patted him on the back and continued to serve the drinks.

Shortly after Digger was completely immersed in his own drink, Jamie wandered over. "Everything alright, Doe?"

"It is now. Why don't I play you a song?" He took her hand and sat her next to him on the piano bench where he played "My Funny Valentine."


End file.
